My friends at Rainwater Warehouse, a leading provider of rainwater harvesting technologies, asked me to publish this press release about the introduction of a complete line of rainwater harvesting systems and products now available for purchase on their new website. I was happy to oblige since I thought many readers who are green professionals  might be interested in this product line.

SARASOTA, FLORIDA, DECEMBER 19, 2011 — Rainwater Warehouse has launched a new website offering a complete range of rainwater harvesting systems and products. According to Principal Jack Burden, Rainwater Warehouse provides a complete range of residential and commercial rainwater harvesting products. The company offers packaged solutions directly to green build developers, builders and homeowners. They also provide commercial grade rainwater harvesting components to builders & owners of commercial properties.

The company offers complete rainwater harvesting systems and rainwater harvesting components with field-tested dependability. These systems include the highest quality components, separating their systems from the likes of those you may find at a boxed retail location. “It is important that you pay close attention to the components that are included in any rainwater harvesting system. Many systems on the market today are made with low quality components; our systems are built to last,” Burden explained.

Featured on the website is the Rainwater Warehouse Deluxe Rainwater Harvesting System, sold with a 300 or 500 gallon tank. The system offers multiple mounting options for downspout, filter and tank placement and boasts of easy installation in fewer than 30 minutes. Included is an overflow system, 3/4″ hose bib, Leaf Beater, 300 or 500 Gallon UV inhibited tank, 1/6hp submersible pump w/ 8′ electric cord and assembly instructions. The systems are turnkey, no additional parts are required.

The Deluxe Rainwater Harvesting Systems are supplied with corrosion-resistant schedule 40 PVC pipe and fittings. “Thinner wall pipes will decay and become brittle after prolonged exposure to sunlight. These systems are field tested to stand up to the sun, lawn equipment and are tamper resistant,” Burden asserted.

The tanks have manways installed at the top which are sealed tightly to prevent accidental death or injury. Molded of food grade polyethylene resin, the tanks have a long term UV package and are suitable for use in or out of direct sunlight. The high impact resin is not affected by warm or cold temperatures. This allows captured water to be used for emergency supply if required,” said Burden.

If you are not in the market for a package system, Rainwater Warehouse also provides individual components and downloadable kit plans for the “do it yourselfers”. They offer a range of products and services including fixed cost design review, the Apex PumpBuddy®, Leaf Beater® and custom made commercial grade downspout filters. The filters come in your choice of aluminum, stainless steel or copper.

Also available for purchase is a decorative downspout filter and a custom decorative pipe sleeves with a special precast footer. The decorative systems can add an architectural element to the home or hide the visible elements of a rainwater harvesting system. “Homeowners can now harvest rainwater without detracting from the beauty of their homes,” stated Burden. “We offer solutions that are not only dependable, but allow the average homeowner to install and use with ease.”

Homeowners once purchased rainwater harvesting systems to decrease their water footprint or save money on their utility bill, but rainwater can also prove to be a useful asset in times of emergency. “Rainwater harvesting systems can prove to be a necessity in the event of wildfire, flooding, drought or other domestic or natural emergencies,” said Burden.

Create peace of mind with an independent, alternative water source using a Rainwater Warehouse Deluxe Rainwater Harvesting System. You will never have to worry about water regulations or drought when you have your own source of harvested rainwater. When you purchase a system from Rainwater Warehouse you aren’t just buying a system, you are buying independence. Rainwater Warehouse provides only the most durable systems and components, field tested and proven to withstand the elements.

All major credit cards are accepted and the team is available to speak to if you have any questions prior to purchase. For more information you can visit Rainwater Warehouse on the web at www.rainwaterwarehouse.com.

A little levity…

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Last year I wrote a blog post about our food’s virtual water content, i.e. the hidden water used when producing meat and other products. I’d like to tack on an addendum to that post by including National Geographic’s and Water Footprint Network’s calculations about how much water goes into everything from hamburgers to t-shirts. Their figures are slightly different from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) and statistics from other sources vary, but the idea is the same. The statistics are astonishing; I really recommend checking it out. Here are some highlights (partial statistics source: EPA):

Every pound of beef you eat requires about 50 bathtubs full of water to produce.

One pound of pork requires the same amount of water it takes to do about 17 loads of laundry.

It takes almost 20 gallons of water to produce a cup of beer. Most of that water is used for growing barley.

One pound of cheese requires 600 gallons of water, that’s 6 times more than the average American uses in a day.

The water used to make 500 sheets of paper is equivalent to running a fire hose for about 13 minutes.

Water is a finite resource. According to the EPA, at least 36 states are predicting water shortages by 2013, so consider conserving water by cutting down on eating water-inefficient foods.

It’s rare to find a quality movie outside of the documentary genre that is actually informative and factual about real life events. I recently watched “Even the Rain” (Tambien la Lluvia) and I highly recommend it. The movie is about a film crew shooting a movie in Bolivia in 2000 when they get caught up in the Water War. The Bolivian Water War is exemplary of so many struggles world wide of peasants facing giant corporations who are taking away their right to clean drinking water. For an account of the actual events, click here. Below is the trailer for the film. It’s a must see!

On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans celebrated the first Earth Day by taking to the streets and demonstrating for a healthier environment. The massive push toward sustainable management of our natural resources brought about the creation of the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

Forty-one years later, Earth Day has spread to Yogyakarta, Indonesia where today zoo keepers are building compost bins to turn animal dung into natural fertilizer in order to reduce air pollution from the waste. Kuwaitis are cleaning up beaches, women in Mumbai, India are planting trees, and volunteers in British Columbia are holding e-waste recycling drives.

Students pose for a photo with a globe during a campaign to mark Earth Day in a middle school in Dexing, Jiangxi province in China 4/19/11. Credit: Reuters/China Daily

It’s great to know that on April 22^nd people everywhere are uniting for a good cause. But what will happen on April 23^rd? Or the day after that? Will Senators who roll up their shirt sleeves and pose for a publicity photo shoot with a shovel and some seeds in front of a mound of dirt actually follow through on their promises to promote fair environmental legislation? The danger of dedicating a day to a cause is that it provides people with an excuse to do something good one day a year and then ride on that sense of accomplishment for the next 364 days without accomplishing anything new.

This Earth Day, turn off the tap while brushing your teeth, take a shorter shower, and bring a reusable bag to the grocery store. And then do the same thing tomorrow.  If we are ever going to make real change, EVERY DAY HAS TO BE EARTH DAY. Find a way you want to change your lifestyle to be greener; make that commitment and stick to it. You might have lost sight of your New Year’s Resolutions by this point (guilty), but don’t lose the Earth Day momentum.

Learn more about Earth Day here.